Date Added: May 03, 2014 03:01:55 AM

The process involved in manufacturing perfume is very detailed. Perfume makers have this art down to a fine science, using a combination of old and new techniques to create interesting fragrances such as Alien Essence Absolue, Womanity and Alien Perfume.

Step One: Gathering Ingredients

The first step in perfume making involves gathering the required ingredients. Some perfumes could have only a few ingredients, while others could have as many as 800. Many formulas call for plant-based materials, which must be harvested at precisely the right time in order to provide the desired results. Perfumes can also include animal by-products or even chemicals that have been developed because they duplicate other natural aromas.

Step Two: Extracting Essential Oils

Plants in their raw form cannot be used to create perfumes. Instead, their essential oils must be carefully extracted, as these oils blend well with other raw ingredients. A variety of methods can be used to extract essential oils, the most common being steam distillation or solvent extraction. Steam distillation involves exposing plant matter to steaming hot water, while solvent extraction is done by soaking plants in benzene or petroleum ether. An ancient method still used in many parts of the world involves grinding plants inside a press that is operated by hand. Specimens can also be placed between glass frames that are coated with an oily substance.

Step Three: Blending Ingredients Together

Once essential oils have been extracted, they are then blended together in exact amounts as determined by their own unique formula. This formula has been developed by a chemist who is referred to as a "nose." The nose will carefully blend the required combination of ingredients together, and then this mixture will be diluted with another mixture containing alcohol and water. The amount of alcohol and water used will depend upon the type of fragrance being created, with cologne requiring less than an Eau de Toilette does.

Step Four: Allowing the Perfume to Age

After the ingredients are mixed together, they are not bottled and distributed immediately. Instead, they are set aside to age for a particular amount of time. This period can be anywhere from a few weeks to several years. At a specified time, a sample will be tested by the nose to see if it is ready for release to the public. Once it passes this sniff test, it will be placed into bottles and then shipped to retailers.

Each step involved in the perfume-making process must be carefully attended to if the final product is going to be pleasing the consumers. Even a slight deviation in procedure can dramatically alter the results, which is why chemists carefully evaluate fragrances at every step of production.

Summary: When you look at a fragrance such as Womanity, Alien Essence Absolue or Alien perfume, it can be hard to imagine how it developed from simply a collection of individual ingredients to the finished product you see. The fact is that creating these fragrances is actually a detailed process that has been carefully honed by scientists.